Fork lift trucks come in a variety of sizes and have many and varied specialized functions. One inventive concept of importance herein is the provision of a relatively small-sized truck allowing an operator to walk behind the truck, operating manual controls during normal operations. When the truck is not in use it may be desirable to store it in a way to minimize storage space in the particular manufacturing or warehouse facility where the truck is normally used. Additionally, it may be desirable to mount the small-sized fork lift truck on the flat bed of a trailer and have it be of minimal projection beyond the trailer surface.
An example of a fork lift truck having both retractable wheels and being mountable on a trailer is shown in each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,799,379; 4,061,237; and 4,921,075, although the latter does not show retractable wheels.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,972,427; 4,460,064; 4,571,139; and 4,613,272 disclose fork lift trucks of very specialized nature which have retractable or collapsible wheel structure combined with the feature of actually loading the fork lift truck onto the support surface of the trailer or other vehicle involved.